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Australian Meat Group Menerapkan Otomatisasi Antar-Jemput Kepadatan Tinggi di Penyimpanan Dingin Langsung

Sumber: MHD Supply Chain

Australian Meat Group’s Cold Storage Automation Project Sets a New Benchmark for High-Density Frozen Warehousing

Apa yang telah terjadi

Australian Meat Group has delivered a high-density cold storage automation project at its Cootamundra processing facility in regional New South Wales, working with Stow Australia.

The project uses the Movu Atlas 2D Shuttle system inside a live cold storage environment. According to the published report, it is Australia’s first fully operational Movu Atlas 2D Shuttle system deployed within an active cold chain facility.

The system is designed for freezer and chiller applications and can operate in temperatures as low as -25°C. It combines high-density pallet storage with shuttle-based automation to support higher throughput, improved pallet accessibility, kondisi kerja yang lebih aman dan skalabilitas jangka panjang.

Untuk operator rantai dingin, ini lebih dari sekadar kisah otomasi gudang. Hal ini menunjukkan bagaimana fasilitas beku dan dingin beralih dari rak palet konvensional ke sistem penyimpanan otomatis yang mengurangi penanganan manual, meningkatkan kepadatan penyimpanan dan membantu mengontrol ruang freezer yang boros energi dengan lebih efisien.

Cara Kerjanya

Sistem otomasi penyimpanan dingin berbasis antar-jemput dirancang untuk memindahkan palet melalui saluran penyimpanan jalur dalam dengan lebih sedikit ketergantungan pada forklift yang beroperasi di dalam zona freezer.

Di cold store konvensional, Kepadatan penyimpanan palet seringkali dibatasi oleh kebutuhan akan lorong forklift yang tetap. Setiap lorong mengkonsumsi volume pendingin, dan setiap meter kubik ruang freezer mengandung konstruksi, isolasi, pendinginan dan biaya energi.

Model Movu Atlas 2D Shuttle mengubah logika penyimpanan. Instead of keeping wide manual access aisles throughout the warehouse, shuttle automation can move pallets within dense racking structures. This allows operators to store more product inside the same building footprint while reducing the total freezer volume required per pallet.

For Australian Meat Group, the system has been designed to support freezer and chiller operations, where low temperatures create challenges for both people and equipment. Working inside cold storage can reduce labor comfort, increase safety risks, and limit the time staff can spend in the environment. Automation reduces the number of manual movements required in the cold zone.

The system is also designed to support storage density levels of up to 85–90%, according to the source report. That matters because higher density can reduce the volume of air that must be continuously refrigerated. In a freezer environment, storage density is not only a space-utilization metric; it is also an energy and operating-cost metric.

The installation stands just under 20 meters high and is designed as a scalable platform. This indicates that the system is not only solving a current storage need, but also allowing the operator to expand capacity as demand changes.

Mengapa itu penting

Cold storage automation is becoming more important because frozen and chilled logistics face several pressures at the same time.

Food producers and cold chain operators need higher throughput, but skilled labor is increasingly difficult to secure. Energy costs remain a major operating burden. Building new freezer space is expensive. Pada saat yang sama, pengecer, foodservice buyers and export markets expect more reliable inventory access, shorter lead times and stronger product integrity.

A high-density automated storage system can address several of these challenges together.

Pertama, it improves space utilization. Instead of expanding the physical footprint, operators can increase capacity inside the existing building envelope.

Kedua, it can reduce manual handling. This is especially valuable in low-temperature environments where forklift operation, staff rotation, protective clothing and safety procedures affect productivity.

Ketiga, it can improve pallet accessibility. Deep storage is efficient, but poor accessibility can slow order preparation. Shuttle automation helps balance density and access by moving pallets according to system logic instead of relying only on manual retrieval.

Keempat, it can support better temperature discipline. Fewer manual movements and better-controlled workflows can reduce door-open time, traffic congestion and unnecessary exposure inside the cold room.

The Australian Meat Group project also suggests that cold storage automation is moving beyond showcase pilots. The system has reportedly been operational for more than six months, which makes the case more useful for B2B readers than a simple product announcement.

Dampak B2B

Untuk operator penyimpanan dingin, this project provides a practical signal: automation should be evaluated as part of the thermal design of the warehouse, not just as a material-handling upgrade.

A shuttle system can improve pallet density, but operators must still check airflow, evaporator placement, racking load, proteksi kebakaran, maintenance access, battery performance, control software, prosedur pengambilan darurat dan integrasi dengan sistem manajemen gudang.

Untuk produsen makanan beku dan pengolah daging, otomatisasi dengan kepadatan tinggi dapat mendukung inventaris yang lebih besar tanpa segera membangun lebih banyak ruang freezer. Hal ini terutama berlaku untuk daging yang berorientasi ekspor, hidangan laut, makanan beku dan bahan-bahan di mana kontrol batch, rotasi produk dan ketertelusuran palet penting.

Untuk pemasok otomasi, peluangnya jelas. Pengguna penyimpanan dingin tidak memerlukan otomatisasi gudang umum. Mereka membutuhkan sistem yang dirancang untuk pengoperasian suhu rendah, risiko kondensasi, perilaku baterai, akses pemeliharaan dan kondisi higienis. Peralatan yang berfungsi dengan baik di gudang sekitar mungkin tidak berfungsi dengan baik pada suhu -25°C.

Untuk kontraktor pendingin, penyimpanan otomatis mengubah perhitungan desain fasilitas. Kepadatan yang lebih tinggi dapat mengurangi kebutuhan volume freezer, but airflow and heat-load management become more complex. Refrigeration design must account for racking density, shuttle movement, equipment heat, access zones and future expansion.

Untuk tim keamanan dan kualitas pangan, automation data can become part of product integrity management. If pallet location, movement time, dwell time and temperature records are connected, operators can build stronger traceability and faster exception review.

For investors and developers, the case supports a broader trend: modern cold storage is becoming more technology-heavy and capital-intensive. Facilities are no longer judged only by pallet count and location. Buyers and tenants increasingly want energy efficiency, kesiapan otomatisasi, kontrol suhu, operational safety and digital visibility.

The wider lesson is that cold chain infrastructure is moving toward integrated freezer platforms where storage density, otomatisasi, energy efficiency and product integrity are designed together. Australian Meat Group’s Cootamundra project shows how that shift is already happening in real operating environments.